Act One

Act One – in which we

meet the performers and hear

the questions they have

Narrator:¹ There are seven performers and one narrator –

that’s me…I’ll let you know that much up front.

You can think of me as a facilitator

who shepherds the performers on from stunt to stunt.

When the ball doesn’t move, I call a punt.

That’s to say, when the players stall or get wordy,

or if a particular one of them exceeds

her allotment of lines (let’s say thirty) –

or else if he’s too emotive, if his heart bleeds…

well, I’m the one who breaks it up, who intervenes,

making sure that you get your money’s worth.

And of course they’re given the chance to vent their spleens –

hopefully, though, in a way that allows for mirth.

But you didn’t come to hear my mouth run,

so ladies and gentlemen, meet Performer One² –

with finger upon lips, going…

Performer One [P1]: …blubber, blubber,

blubber…

Narrator: …as if he hadn’t any brain.

P1: Or as if the one inside my head was rubber.

Narrator: Is that the best you’ve got?

P1: Should I come on again?

Narrator: Idiot. You must pronounce it “agayne”

to hit the long “ai” in brain. It’s all got to rhyme.

P1: Why’s that?

Narrator: It’s how he wants it…the one with the pen.

He uses the device to mark the time.

I’ve been told that it helps him count from one to ten.

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P1: Who is this guy?

Narrator: I’m afraid I haven’t met him.

P1: Then what the hell’s he doing bugging us?

Narrator: Look, don’t ask me. I wouldn’t know him from Adam.

Besides, it’s not something I’m allowed to discuss.

P1: Boy, you’re touchy. Shall I come out again?

Narrator: No, they get the idea. Let’s summon your friend.

P1: Yessir. Summon, summon, summon, summon, summon…

Narrator: She’s dragging a bag. It’s a heavy one.

Performer Two:¹ Hang on, hang on. I’m a’comin’, I’m a’comin’.

I’ve brought along some odds and ends for everyone,

and books by a fellow named Gideon.

P1: Oh, yeah…I read that one in a bus station once.

My favorite parts were the ones about the Law

(I quote from them to prove I’m not a dunce),

and the one with the mouse, the lion and his claw.

P2: Oh, no…you’ve got it wrong. That’s from another book

filled with talking animals and whatnot.

My word – how nice it is to be out for a look!

I say, Narrator, you’ve chosen the very spot.

Narrator: Thank you for being so agreeable.

P1: The next one, as I’ve been told, is somewhat feeble.

Narrator: Enter Four pushing Three, who lays prone on a cot.²

Performer Four: Say something. He wants you to say something.

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¹The bag or box that Performer Two drags is enormous and of apparently considerable weight. It should be large enough to hold any props or additional costumes needed throughout the play, and of considerable height (roughly, perhaps, to the chest of an adult person).

²Performer Four wheels Performer Three in on a cot that is convertible into a wheelchair and that may subsequently be used as chair, table, etc.

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Performer Three: Here I am, Narrator. Punctual to a dot.

Hope you didn’t expect me to come out running.

It’s good, though…this corpse can stand some sunning.

Water please, nurse.

P2: You’re his caretaker, I presume?

P4: Or somethin’ like that. But it ain’t my only task.

I left it up at the top of the flume –

my job description, I mean. So I have to ask

now and again to know what I’m supposed to do.

P1: The flume, you say?

P4: Yeah, that’s how I got here.

“Get in, hold your breath, spin around.” All that times two.

Then, when you think the coast is clear (or almost clear),

you give yourself a push and hold on tight.

We made it here in time. Din’t we, Three!

P3: That’s right!

P1: I hear the remaining performers coming now.

Narrator: Now enters Five, with Six in hot pursuit.

Performer Five: It’s what you get, you sot, for calling me a cow.

Performer Six: I did not.

P5: You did so – as we entered the chute.

P6: But Mummy, I thought I was being cute.

P5: Stop calling me Mummy – I’ll spank your living bum.

P6: You say that each time but you don’t keep your promise.

Narrator: Now enters Seven banging on a drum.¹

P1:² I think she’s already snipped his living Thomas!

Say – I reckon these two both have British accents.

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¹Performer Seven enters banging on a drum, as in the words of the narrator.

²Aside to P2.

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Performer Seven: Three. And why not? Who says it’s got to be all Yanks,

with their big mouths and their silly Epcot pageants?

P2: Why, this little one must be full of words and pranks.

P1: Narrator, you think we can send her back?

Narrator: No. Who’s to say she’s not here to fulfill some lack?

P3: Nurse, is Five young Six’s sister or his mother?

P4: You got me. Could be both for all I know.

P7: Mummy, do you suppose I could have another?

P5: Another what, darling?

P7: Those pills that help me grow.

Look, it’s the Teletubbies! Which one’s Po?¹

P5: You didn’t remember to bring her vitamins?

P6: No. You said we were to leave all such things behind –

that they’d only serve as impediments.

P5: That was metaphorical, you credulous rind.

P7: More, Mummy – give him more! How I love such abuse!

P1: So we’re in for some domestic humor!

P2: I rather believe you’re admiring her² caboose.

P1: It’s true, but please don’t broadcast it like a rumor.

P3: Tell me, nurse – just how are they³ related?

P4: I’d tell ya, honey, but it would be x-rated.

P3: But don’t you think he looks perhaps a bit too young?

And if I’m right, he seems to have her jaw.

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¹Performer Seven is referring to Performers One through Four, whom, despite her previous "Yanks" comment, she has just noticed. One through Four are standing in a row (Four has helped Three to his feet) and are observing Five through Seven, prompting Seven’s humorous comparison.

²P2 is referring to P5.

³P5 and P7.

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P6: Sir, if you’ve any certain questions on your tongue

concerning the status I bear to Five in law,

or anything that touches on the raw,

rude or simply personal…

Narrator: Now Six, that’s enough.

P7: Daddy, are you going to do the old man in?

Narrator: I’m here to prevent things from getting rough.

P6: Believe me, violence is not of my planning.

P3: Pardon an old man for just being curious.

P7: I accept your sorries on his behalf.

But I’ll warn you – certain things make him furious.

Don’t think he won’t pommel you on a verbal gaffe.

Don’t suggest I’m anything but his Sis,

or that he’s not Mummy’s son, if you get my gist.

Narrator: HUM! HUM!¹ This, by the way, is where I call a “hum.”

P5: Right, I’ll be the first. Could you please explain?

Narrator: I’d say it’s to prevent you all from feeling numb.

Or when the tableau begins to exceed its frame,

propriety establishes its claim.

P5: What right have you to moan about our behavior?

Narrator: Well, I suppose I’ve some right…no, I’ve every right.

I intercede for you with your savior

and help him to understand your unhappy plight.

P2: Are any of you unhappy at the moment?

As for myself, I’ve no cause for complaint.

Narrator: It’s the way of unhappiness first to foment.

P7: And for this reason you ask of us some restraint?

[silence]

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¹Uttered with considerable volume, to which the performers react in surprise and discomfort.

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P1: The narrator pauses. This means he’s stuck.

How to answer an English kid with so much pluck?

Narrator: HUM! HUM! Once again, this is what I call a “hum.”

P4: As if he had to say the damn thing twice.

P7: Would you fancy, Narrator, borrowing my drum?

P5:¹ Well, if you told us what to do, that would be nice.

P6: We’re sheep to your shepherd; to your pipe, mice.

P3: Say, that’s good – marrying Christ with the Brothers Grimm!

P4: The Brothers who?

P3: Why, the Brothers Grimm! Quite a pair.

P4: They happen to be related to him?

P3: To whom?

P4:² To that blabberin’ sucker way up there!

P5: You sound as if you know exactly where he’s at.

P6: Come on, he’s just a disembodied voice.

We don’t even know if he thinks, for all of that.

P2: Well, you certainly sound as if you’ve made your choice!

P6: Just show me some proof – empirical proof –

that he’s more than just an aperture in the roof.

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¹Addressing the narrator.

²Indicating the ceiling.

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Narrator: HUM! HUM! For the third time. Don’t make me call a fourth!

But this time I won’t let you interrupt.

You’ve all been summoned to the Stage with No True North.

A “hum” is where the action is suddenly stopped.

The last group ceremoniously flopped.

If these first minutes are any indication,

you seven are likely to suffer the same fate.

You’re not here for your own recreation,

so do just as I tell you before it’s too late.

The stage, as you’ll note, is a more or less perfect

circle. Though there’s no true north, there’s a true

center where imaginary lines intersect.

Where exactly is it? That’s for you to construe.

I’ll call you forth in ones or twos or threes.

At times you’re not needed, you may do as you please.

You may rest and recline on the periphery.

Just try your best not to get in the way.

When you’re called, you’re expected to come forth swiftly.

Before you speak, I suggest you think what to say.

That’s enough for now. Let’s begin our play.

And we’ll start out with any questions you might have.

Here the seven line themselves up from short to tall.¹

P5 will attempt not to smirk or laugh.

The elderly Three has a cane, so he won’t fall.²

Well, don’t just look around at each other – do it!³

Now get your questions ready, one by one.

Hands in the air, now. Don’t be shy. Let’s get to it!

And put your frown away, Six. You may find this fun.⁴

Now come on – you must have something to ask.

I’ll reply with a judgment, a pun or a task.

P7: Me first! You just referred to Mummy as P5.

The “P” I take it stands for “performer.”

It’s as P7, then, that I’m to fail or thrive?

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¹The performers do not immediately react to this instruction but look at each other in confusion.

²P4 retrieves a cane from the cot and helps P3 to his feet.

³The performers hurriedly queue up.

⁴Once again, the performers look at each other in a spirit of shared perplexity.

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Narrator: I only wish that I were such a quick learner.

Your question’s asked. Retire to the corner…

to the edge, that is (no corners in a circle),

in front of the expanse where the auditors sit.

Not so close you hear their stomachs gurgle.

And don’t disturb or surprise them as they audit.

(Seven looks warily at them for the first time,

circumspectly surveying their faces,

conniving how she might best beckon for a dime

or candy, affecting a limp as she paces.)¹

Now (while Performer Seven has her fun),

we await the next from Performer Number One.

P1: Yes, well…I guess I am the next tallest in line.

So she’s denominated P7.

I guess the same goes for me. I’m P1, in fine?

Narrator: Correct.

P1: Great! That, in fact, was my only question.

As easy as that to get to Heaven!

Well, I guess I’ll be joining little Seven now.

Narrator: Not yet. Get back here, One. Your question doesn’t count.

Wipe that self-satisfaction off your brow.

It doesn’t, in fact, to a question yet amount.

You simply repeated what P7 had asked.

You’ll have to come up, then, with something else.

So out with another question, and make it fast!

And mind that I’m watching you count your 10’s and 12’s.

P1: ten TEN ten TEN ten TEN ten TEN ten TEN,

and THEN twelve twelve TWELVE twelve TWELVE, back to TEN aGAIN.

Got it! Hey, English kid. You got a suggestion?

P7: “Seven” or “P7” will kindly do.

I take it you're having trouble with your question.

I got through with a question whose answer I knew.

I did have a real one, which I withdrew,

as with the first one I seemed to have gotten by.

I'll give it to you if you like.

P1: Such charity.

P7: Who, what, where, when, which, whose, how many, why:

Choose one to establish the question's clarity.

P1: Too many to choose from. I'll go with the first. Who?

P7: Precisely. My question is simply this:

Who are they?

P1: Who?

P7:² Those faces staring down at you.

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^{1P7 follows these stage instructions from the narrator as if she is just now learning that she must begin to act on her own. Having come to an understanding of what is expected from her, she begins to perambulate before the audience, eyeing her spectators warily.}

²P7 indicates the audience.

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P1: How odd! I must say, Seven, I didn't notice.

That's it, Narrator. Without any fuss,

inform me just who's up there staring down at us.

Narrator: At last. They are none other than your auditors.

P7: But what's an auditor?

P1: One who audits.

P7: I remember there are animals called otters.

Narrator: Not the same thing. From these you must earn their plaudits

and give them something for them to laud.

P1: It's

not, I expect, going to be an easy job.

Narrator: You may retire to the periphery, P1.

I'll ask you in the future not to rob

this youth of such ideas as come to the young.

P1: Just what have you done to make him your favorite?

P7: I fear, though, that may change before too long.

I've got his affection. For now I'll savor it.

Come with me. We'll see what we can make of this throng.

P1: Wait a minute. It's P2's turn to ask.¹

Will he give her a riddle or set her to task?

P2: Well, I see that I'm called upon now to query.

Really, I have no wit of which to brag.

What to ask that will make the auditors merry

(and my timing and delivery must not sag)…

I know! Narrator, what about this bag?

I mean, why do I have what the others haven't,

and what can you tell me of its expected use?

P1: Quite excellent, P2. As it happens,

my own consternation in fact was a mere ruse,

as I desired nothing more than to be informed

why you and no one else had brought your things.

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¹P7 ignores P1's request for her to wait for him and continues to indulge her curiosity in her onlookers.

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P7:¹ I don't recall much, but I do think Mummy warned

that apart from this dress to which my body clings,

I was to leave my other stuff behind.

Dear sir, inform us. Clue us in, if you don't mind.

Narrator: Careful, Seven, of wishing to speak for the whole.

P7: I told you his affection wouldn't last.

Narrator: Just remember you're only as big as your role.

Mind the dimension in which your mold has been cast,

for there are trials you haven't yet passed.

P7: I believe this is what Mummy calls chastisement.

P1: Quite a lot of big words your Mummy knows.

P7: For the benefit of my refinement…

and to keep you illiterate Yanks on your toes.

P1: I've news for you. I could hold my own with your mum.

The same, I'm quite sure, goes for our P2.

P7: So you're not the only damn Yank who's not a bum?

I'll have to verify this to see if it's true.

P1: How did you learn such bigotry, and where?

And was it Mummy, too, who taught you how to swear?

Narrator: HUM! HUM!

P2: Thank you, Narrator. It's appropriate.

You haven't as of yet been given leave

to say what I'll find inside when I open it…

if what it holds offers solace or some reprieve,

or medicines to sooth us when we grieve.

P1: At first, I remember, you knew what was in there.

P2: I did. But to tell you the truth, I don't quite know.

What I said was due in part to the glare

that fell fast upon me within the entry's glow.

At first I thought it was something I had prepared -

something in the manner, say, of keepsakes -

and I was somewhat anxious as to how they'd fared

in the passageway, with its hidden snags and breaks.

But now, I think it really isn't mine.

Narrator, what can we expect beneath this twine?

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¹Returning to center stage.

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Narrator: Inside this box there is everything you will need.

Some are separate, others intertwined.

With certain things there's one, so to limit your greed,

though with others there are several of each kind.

All the things you need, therein you will find.¹

P1: Would this be considered a judgment or riddle?

P2: It's couched in the form of a quasi-limerick -

"quasi" as it's messed up in the middle.

P7: Line 5 stands out from the rest like a minaret.

P2: Technically, line 5 should rhyme with the first two.

P7: What would happen if we turned them around?

P1: Can we pry them apart without smearing the glue?

P2: Let's rearrange their order and see how they sound.

"Some things are separate, some intertwined."

P7: "With certain things, there are several of each kind."

P1: "With others, there's only one to prevent your greed."

But where's the line that should with this be rhymed?

P7: I know! "Inside this box there's everything you’ll need."

P2: The fifth line: "Everything you need, inside you'll find."

It doesn't seem to matter how it's lined.

The meaning's clear: Inside this bag we'll find our props.

P7: Props? That sounds as if we'll be expected to act.

P1: And what if our performance roundly flops?

P2: He's already warned us about that much, in fact.

Let's get on with it, though, before he calls a hum.

We’re bound to learn what’s in this heaped-up store

and how it will benefit us. The time has come

to hear from our caretaking friend, Performer Four.

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¹This line may be accompanied by background music indicating magic or mystery.

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P7: I, in fact, have some questions about Four.

That is, will we be hearing from him or from her?

P1: I'd caution you, Seven, to exercise some tact.

Haven't you noticed Four has a temper?

P7: No offense. I just want to know one simple fact.

What sex is Four and, beyond that, which will tempt her?

P4: Next you'll ask to examine my member.

Who on earth taught this little chick the facts of life?

Anyway, you said "her" - that means you've decided.

You think I could me made into a wife.

All you know, in fact, is that the world's divided

into those who are "with" and those who are "without.”

Are my waters to be drawn from a well,

or are they rather administered from a spout?

If I line the box with seed, will the topsoil swell,

or am I equipped with balls and paddle?

When I couple, do I mount or do I straddle?

P1: We didn't expect, P4, you were this verbal.

P4: Take note there are times when I'll hold forth.

Believe you me, I'm riled by this English gerbil.

She won't subject my ambiguity to mirth.

"Why does the stage we're on have no true north?

Does it lack the directions we have here on Earth?"

These, Narrator, are the questions that I would put.

Narrator: Your questions, Four, have both body and worth.

This stage has no true north because it's no true soot.

P1: "It's no true soot." Does "it's" mean "it has" or "it is"?

Narrator: I've told you all I mean for now to say.

P7: Don't tell me we're stuck on a grammatical quiz?

P2: "It has." A stage cannot be a soot or a clay.

"It has no true soot" must be the intent.

P1: But that does nothing to explain just what is meant.

P2: If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to venture a gloss.

This stage does not have an earth of its own.

Whatever we find here by way of bush or moss

is borrowed from the other Earth as if on loan -

nothing that we haven't already known.

Likewise, it doesn't have its own true North or South,

although it bears directionality.

What we're to do, then, is search for the mouth

through which it opens on that first reality.

P1: Is that anything like what you were getting at?

Narrator: I've said that it's closed to further comment.

P7: He just doesn't want to admit that there's a slat

through which to escape, with or without my bonnet.

P1: Anyway, he seems to be satisfied.

Now it's time to see whether Five will be denied.

P5: First, I'm entirely unsure as to where to start.

You'll guess rightly I'd rather be elsewhere.

You'll find it difficult for me to play a part.

It doesn't seem that any of this is my care.

And I've brought nothing else along to wear.

Sure, I've some idea of what's been going on.

Perhaps it's good for my daughter to be involved.

I'll say this stage is not my kind of lawn.

The enigmas he offers are not to be solved.

I don't know if I've understood them correctly.

I'm sure that I could greatly contribute,

but I doubt I'd go about it circumspectly.

Whatever I had to say, you’d likely refute.

So if nobody minds, I'll just sit back

and observe whether you all keep your wits intact.

Narrator: HUM! HUM!

P4: I wonder why he had to wait this long!

Narrator: If Five bows out, the rest are through as well.

P4: He means, Lady Five, we ain't six but seven strong.

P5: What in God’s name did I do to land in this hell?

P1: Six surely led you in, or else you fell.

P7: Mummy, I believe that your question suffices.

Does it please you, Narrator, dear sir, to answer?

[Extended pause.]

P1: Such a pause is one of his devices.

He's preparing to unroll a cryptic banner.

Narrator: All of you were conveyed here of your own accord,

although you weren't informed just what you'd lose.

None of you were bribed, deceived or put to the sword.

Nor is anyone by the group to stand accused.

You came on an interest of your own.

Each made his choice on the basis of nothing known.

P2: "Each made his choice on the basis of nothing known."

This one is yet more obscure than the last.

P1: It could almost be sung as a mantra or drone.

P2: Its field of interpretation is somewhat vast.

It seems to assert that what we knew in the past…

what we didn't know, rather…served as the basis

for the very choice we made that landed us here.

Perhaps we were caught within some stasis

or some infinitely boring, eternal year.

And in order to break out of such a deadlock,

each of us took this chance…we made this choice.

P5: I never dreamed of leaving my former paddock,

regardless of what maintains this bodiless voice.

P7: I rather fancy what Two says, Mummy.

I've met lots of stupid Yanks, but she's no dummy!

P4: One more Yank comment, princess, and you're on your ass.

And now it's my turn to ask about you.

Is it common in England, on its well-mowed grass,

for such a man¹ to suddenly divide in two,

'neath quaint expanses of storybook blue,

and turn into a woman's lover and her son?

Or for a girl to be daughter to her brother?

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¹Indicating Heath.

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P7: He calls her Mummy, but that's just for fun.

P4: But didn't you say before that she's his mother?

P5:¹ I'd prefer, darling, you don't fraternize with her -

though "her" I guess has not been established…

him or it or whatever pronoun "they'd" prefer.

I wouldn't be disappointed if she vanished.

P4: No tete-a-tetes allowed, my queenly grace.

If you've got something to say, say it to my face.

Narrator: HUM! HUM!

P2: Thanks. That time it wasn’t gratuitous.

P1: I like this method of intervention;

it's to the point and not at all circuitous.

Narrator: You need right now to grant me your full attention.

It's necessary for me to mention

that you've fewer than a hundred and fifty lines

to successfully complete this first of your tasks.

Your remaining time rapidly declines.

Attend closely upon the question P6 asks.

P1: Well, Six, you'd better get to it. Time is urgent.

P7: So no more interruptions from Miss Man.

P4: How I'd like to wash her mouth out with detergent.

P2: We'll all disappear within a five-minute span

if you two don't put it at once to rest.

P4: I promise, Mrs. Socrates, to do my best.

P6: I've been waiting this long and now I'm quite enthused.

From this stage someday we will have emerged

(if the auditors, that's to say, are so amused).

Will the tasks you've placed upon us have been so urged

that all that's left is to be mourned and dirged?

In a word, will we have lived out our very lives

in a space and a time this entirely unreal

that nothing but our senescence survives,

and our minds left without bodies to help them feel?

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¹Drawing P7 aside.

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P4: This jackass can talk! And I thought he was all bluff.

But "senescence" - what the hell does that mean?

P2: Growing old. Aging.

P4: Man, where'd you get all that stuff?

And your daughter's jaw's a veritable latrine!

P1: Enough, enough. We're running out of time.

P7: And besides - you're the one whose mouth is full of grime!

Narrator: Your question merits a somewhat clearer judgment.

It depends on what each expects to get.

P4: If that's clear, sucker, you may as well have smudged it.

P6: And to think I spent on my question that much sweat.

P4: I've noticed, in fact, your trousers are somewhat wet.

Don't your lords often pee themselves in Parliament?

I take it simply to mean that you’re scared shitless.

P6: Shall I hit her?

P5: I see no harm in it.

P4: I've got seven black belts, jackass. Are you witless?

P2: It's time you're banished to your respective corners.

If our time runs out, who knows what happens?

For all we know, these auditors are our mourners.

Picture this: the space we're in presently flattens.

Compose yourselves and let each other be.

We've yet to hear the question from Performer Three.

P3: First off, I'd like to know why you've made me go last.

Such little respect for the elderly.

Then, assuming our task is successfully passed,

what comes next, Mr. Narrator-in-the-belfry?

Allow me to sit. This isn’t healthy.

P4: What do you say to that, you sadistic bugger?

This poor man's been standing for going on an hour.

P7:¹ Go on, then - call him a “motherfucker.”

He can't hurt you from way up there in his tower.

P6: Mind your language, Sis, if you know what's good for you.

P5: There's only so much I can tolerate.

P1: Our lines are running down to no more than a few.

Let the narrator answer before it's too late.

Narrator: Your first question counts for nothing at all.

I simply asked you to line up from short to tall.

But your second is admissible, so you've passed.

P7: That means that we're supposed to show relief,

or clap or something?

P1: Hold up, Seven - not so fast.

We haven't yet heard his answer, however brief.

P4: Deliver it up, then, blubberin' Chief.

Narrator: Your next task is with the business of finding names.

You can't keep referring to yourselves as numbers.

You'll find yourselves engaged in certain games.

Each will be found in a space where now it slumbers.

Such a task is of the order of retrieval.

Craft is required for each name to be found.

This business often leads to pronounced upheaval,

for each must be unearthed from a fortified mound.

I suggest you now heed silence’s tact.

I'll greet you at the other side of the next act.

P7: Mummy, I think the old man got off rather light…

no more than what we all had on our minds.

P5: Being old, they don't expect him to be so bright.

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¹In an aside to P4.

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P7:¹ It will be fun to see the sort of name he finds.

Soon, I imagine, they'll lower the blinds.

P6: It just occurred to me I've forgotten my name.

In fact, I can't remember very much at all.

This name I'm to search for - is it the same?

Would I recognize it if someone were to call?

The same name I was given in earliest youth?

P5: I'm amazed you're lending it that much thought.

I expect to be awoken forthwith, in truth.

But I guess I can't teach you all what can't be taught.

P4: This clan is what they used to call a gas.

P7 was conceived at a hideous mass

and baptized by some bad-ass Anglican devil.

P3: Get your mind off them for a bit, P4.

Do your best for a while just to keep me level.

Eighty years and I've forgotten what's come before.

Down the tubes, eight decades of priceless lore.

P2: I suppose I'm still to take command of the bag.

Do you think he'd hum if I tried to leave it here?

Passersby would deem it a heap of slag.

I think that it's tagged somewhere, but it isn't clear.²

P1: It seems that the time has come for us to fathom

the twists down through which the narrative delves.

At first, I wouldn't have thought this tale would have them.

Narrator: The performers catch their breath and collect themselves,

pausing in advance of their second quest.

The lights go dim, and the auditors take a rest.

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